Exhaust heat recovery system

ABSTRACT

An exhaust heat recovery system may include an exhaust pipe through which exhaust gas exhausted from an engine moves, a main channel through which a working fluid moves, a turbine rotated by the working fluid exhausted from the main channel to generate energy, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) line circulating a portion of the exhaust gas exhausted from the engine to an intake manifold, and channel control valves disposed in the main channel and configured to control movement of the working fluid so that the exhaust gas moving along the EGR line and the working fluid moving along the main channel exchange heat with each other.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 14/872,903, filed Oct. 1, 2015, which claims priority to KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2014-0161140, filed Nov. 18, 2014, the entirecontents of which applications are incorporated herein for all purposesby these references.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a method of controlling a turbine of anexhaust heat recovery system, and more particularly, to a method ofcontrolling a turbine of an exhaust heat recovery system capable ofpreventing damage to the turbine that may occur due to a liquid-phaseworking fluid remaining in the turbine.

Description of Related Art

An internal combustion engine has been widely used in a vehicle, a ship,a small generator, and the like, and an attempt to improve efficiency ofthe internal combustion engine has been continuously conducted. In theinternal combustion engine, a large quantity of heat is generallyexhausted as exhaust heat, and several systems for increasing overallefficiency of the internal combustion engine by recovering the exhaustheat that has been developed.

When considering apparatuses and components required for configuring anexhaust heat recovery system, an increase in a load, and the like, it ismore efficient to mount an exhaust heat recycling system in a largevehicle that has a large displacement and may carry many persons orcargos than to mount the exhaust heat recycling system in a smallvehicle that has a small displacement and is light.

In the case of a vehicle, a typical example of a system of recycling theexhaust heat includes a system using a turbo compound and a system usinga thermoelectric element.

The system using a turbo compound uses a scheme of obtaining an outputby attaching an exhaust turbine to an exhaust line and rotating theexhaust turbine by an exhaust pressure. In this scheme, thermalefficiency of an entire system in which the internal combustion engineis installed may be improved; however, the exhaust turbine is operatedas an exhaust resistor, such that an output of an engine itself isdecreased.

The system using a thermoelectric element uses a scheme of chargingelectricity using the thermoelectric element generating the electricityby a temperature difference or driving an auxiliary motor by theelectricity to assist the engine. However, a cost of the thermoelectricelement itself may not be ignored, and a space in which thethermoelectric element may be mounted is narrow, such that even thoughthe thermoelectric element is actually mounted in mass-producedvehicles, it is not easy to meaningfully improve thermal efficiency ofthe engine.

The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section isonly for enhancement of understanding of the general background of theinvention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form ofsuggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to aperson skilled in the art.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Various aspects of the present invention are directed to providing anexhaust heat recovery system capable of efficiently recovering exhaustheat of an internal combustion engine.

According to various aspects of the present invention, an exhaust heatrecovery system may include an exhaust pipe through which exhaust gasexhausted from an engine moves, a main channel through which a workingfluid moves, a turbine rotated by the working fluid exhausted from themain channel to generate energy, an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) linecirculating a portion of the exhaust gas exhausted from the engine to anintake manifold, and channel control valves disposed in the main channeland configured to control movement of the working fluid so that theexhaust gas moving along the EGR line and the working fluid moving alongthe main channel exchange heat with each other.

The exhaust heat recovery system may further include a reservoir storinga liquid-phase working fluid therein, a heat exchanger provided in theexhaust pipe so as to receive the liquid-phase working fluid from thereservoir and evaporate the liquid-state working fluid, and a superheater connected to an EGR cooler so as to receive the evaporatedworking fluid from the heat exchanger depending on operations of thechannel control valves and transferring heat of the exhaust gascirculated to the intake manifold to the evaporated working fluid toheat the evaporated working fluid.

The working fluid supplied from the reservoir to the heat exchanger maybe pressurized through a pump.

The turbine selectively may receive the working fluid from the heatexchanger or the super heater depending on the operations of the channelcontrol valves.

The main channel may be branched into a first branch channel connectedto a super heater inlet formed in the super heater and a second branchchannel extended toward the turbine, and the second branch channel maybe branched into a third branch channel connected to a super heateroutlet formed in the super heater and a fourth branch channel connectedto a turbine inlet formed in the turbine.

The channel control valves may be provided at a first branch point atwhich the main channel is branched into the first branch channel and thesecond branch channel and a second branch point at which the secondbranch channel is branched into the third branch channel and the fourthbranch channel, respectively.

The channel control valves may include a first channel control valveprovided at a first branch point at which the main channel is branchedinto the first branch channel and the second branch channel, and asecond channel control valve provided at a second branch point at whichthe second branch channel is branched into the third branch channel andthe fourth branch channel.

The exhaust heat recovery system may further include a post-processingapparatus disposed in the exhaust pipe and configured to filter aparticulate matter (PM) exhausted from the engine.

The exhaust heat recovery system according may further include aThermoelectric Generator (TEG) condenser configured to condense theworking fluid exhausted from the turbine, and a recuperator configuredto absorb thermal energy from the working fluid moving from the turbineto the TEG condenser and transfer the thermal energy to the workingfluid injected from the reservoir to the heat exchanger.

According to various aspects of the present invention, an exhaust heatrecovery system may include a main channel into which an evaporatedworking fluid is introduced, a plurality of branch channels branchedfrom the main channel, a super heater disposed in at least one of theplurality of branch channels and configured to supply thermal energy toa moving working fluid, and a turbine rotated by the working fluidsupplied from the plurality of branch channels to generate energy.

The exhaust heat recovery system may further include a channel controlvalve configured to open at least one of the plurality of branchchannels to adjust a flow of the working fluid.

The main channel may be connected to a heat exchanger provided in anexhaust pipe and recovering heat from exhaust gas to evaporate aliquid-phase working fluid.

The turbine may be connected to a reservoir pressuring the working fluidand supplying the pressurized working fluid to the heat exchanger.

A recuperator configured to induce heat exchange between the workingfluid introduced into the reservoir and a working fluid exhausted fromthe reservoir and a TEG condenser configured to condense the workingfluid introduced into the reservoir may be provided between the turbineand the reservoir.

According to various aspects of the present invention, a method ofoperating an exhaust heat recovery system including a main channel intowhich a working fluid evaporated through a heat exchanger provided in anexhaust pipe is introduced and a super heater and a turbine that are inselective communication with the main channel through channel controlvalves provided in the main channel, the super heater heating theworking fluid and the turbine generating electric power using theworking fluid or the working fluid heated through the super heater, mayinclude driving an engine, and operating the channel control valves sothat the main channel and the super heater exchange heat with each otherwhen an EGR valve is operated.

When the main channel and the super heater are in communication witheach other, an amount of the working fluid supplied by a pumpcompressing the working fluid from a reservoir in which the workingfluid is stored and supplying the compressed working fluid to the heatexchanger may be increased.

When it is determined that the EGR valve is not operated, the channelcontrol valves may be operated so that the main channel and the turbineare in communication with each other, and when the main channel and theturbine are in communication with each other, an amount of the workingfluid supplied by a pump compressing the working fluid from a reservoirin which the working fluid is stored and supplying the compressedworking fluid to the heat exchanger may be maintained.

It is understood that the term “vehicle” or “vehicular” or other similarterms as used herein is inclusive of motor vehicles in general such aspassenger automobiles including sports utility vehicles (SUV), buses,trucks, various commercial vehicles, watercraft including a variety ofboats and ships, aircraft, and the like, and includes hybrid vehicles,electric vehicles, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, hydrogen-poweredvehicles and other alternative fuel vehicles (e.g., fuel derived fromresources other than petroleum). As referred to herein, a hybrid vehicleis a vehicle that has two or more sources of power, for example, bothgasoline-powered and electric-powered vehicles.

The methods and apparatuses of the present invention have other featuresand advantages which will be apparent from or are set forth in moredetail in the accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein, andthe following Detailed Description, which together serve to explaincertain principles of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of an exemplary exhaust heat recovery systemaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of main parts of the exhaust heat recoverysystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a procedure view of a method of operating the exhaust heatrecovery system according to the exemplary embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a control block diagram of the method of operating the exhaustheat recovery system of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a heat exchanger included in theexhaust heat recovery system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of main parts of the heat exchanger of FIG.5.

FIG. 7 is an illustrative view of a heat exchange form of the heatexchanger of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is an illustrative view of mounting of a turbine in the exhaustheat recovery system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of main parts of the turbine of FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a procedure view of a method of controlling the turbine ofthe exemplary exhaust heat recovery system according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a super heater and an exhaust gasrecirculation (EGR) cooler included in the exemplary exhaust heatrecovery system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of the super heater and the EGR coolerof FIG. 11.

FIG. 13 is a graph illustrating a change in an internal pressure of theheat exchanger included in the exhaust heat recovery system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is an illustrative view of a connection state between the heatexchanger and the turbine of the exhaust heat recovery system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 15 is a procedure view of a method of controlling connectionbetween the heat exchanger and the turbine of the exemplary exhaust heatrecovery system according to the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a schematic view of a structure in which a ThermoelectricGenerator (TEG) condenser and a reservoir included in the exemplaryexhaust heat recovery system of FIG. 1 share a coolant with each other.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view of the reservoir of FIG. 16.

FIG. 18 is another perspective view of the reservoir of FIG. 16.

FIG. 19 is a perspective view of main parts of a connection structurebetween the TEG condenser and the reservoir of FIG. 16.

FIG. 20 is a schematic view of a reservoir tank of the exhaust heatrecovery system illustrated in FIG. 1.

FIG. 21 is a procedure view of a method of operating the reservoir tankof the exemplary exhaust heat recovery system according to the presentinvention.

It should be understood that the appended drawings are not necessarilyto scale, presenting a somewhat simplified representation of variousfeatures illustrative of the basic principles of the invention. Thespecific design features of the present invention as disclosed herein,including, for example, specific dimensions, orientations, locations,and shapes will be determined in part by the particular intendedapplication and use environment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to various embodiments of thepresent invention(s), examples of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings and described below. While the invention(s) willbe described in conjunction with exemplary embodiments, it will beunderstood that the present description is not intended to limit theinvention(s) to those exemplary embodiments. On the contrary, theinvention(s) is/are intended to cover not only the exemplaryembodiments, but also various alternatives, modifications, equivalentsand other embodiments, which may be included within the spirit and scopeof the invention as defined by the appended claims.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, an exhaust heat recovery systemaccording to various embodiments of the present invention includes anexhaust pipe 404 through which exhaust gas exhausted from an enginemoves, a main channel 100 through which a working fluid moves, a turbine340 rotated by the working fluid exhausted from the main channel 100 togenerate electrical energy and mechanical energy, an exhaust gasrecirculation (EGR) line 200 circulating some of the exhaust gasexhausted from the engine to an intake manifold 2, and channel controlvalves S₁ and S₂ disposed in the main channel 100 and controllingmovement of the working fluid so that the exhaust gas moving along theEGR line 200 and the working fluid moving along the main channel 100exchange heat with each other.

In addition, the exhaust heat recovery system according to variousembodiments of the present invention further includes a reservoir 60storing a liquid-phase working fluid therein, a heat exchanger 400provided in the exhaust pipe 404 so as to receive the liquid-phaseworking fluid from the reservoir 60 and evaporate the liquid-stateworking fluid, and a super heater 310 connected to an EGR cooler 300 soas to receive the evaporated working fluid from the heat exchanger 400depending on operations of the channel control valves and transferringheat of the exhaust gas circulated to the intake manifold to theevaporated working fluid to heat the evaporated working fluid.

The working fluid supplied from the reservoir 60 to the heat exchanger400 is pressurized through a pump 70. The turbine 340 selectivelyreceives the working fluid from the heat exchanger 400 or the superheater 310 depending on the operations of the channel control valves S₁and S₂.

A post-processing apparatus 402 filtering a particulate matter (PM)exhausted from the engine is disposed in the exhaust pipe 404. Theexhaust heat recovery system further includes a Thermoelectric Generator(TEG) condenser 370 condensing the working fluid exhausted from theturbine 340 and a recuperator 50 absorbing thermal energy from theworking fluid moving from the turbine 340 to the condenser 370 andtransferring the thermal energy to the working fluid supplied from thereservoir 60 to the heat exchanger 400.

The super heater 310 is connected to the EGR cooler 300 and transfersheat of the exhaust gas introduced into the EGR cooler 300 to agas-phase working fluid received through the heat exchanger 400. Theturbine 340 is in selective communication with the super heater 310 orthe heat exchanger 400 and receives a torque from the received gas-phaseworking fluid to generate electric power.

The main channel 100 is branched into a first branch channel 110connected to a super heater inlet 315 formed in the super heater 310 anda second branch channel 120 extended toward the turbine 340, and thesecond branch channel 120 is branched into a third branch channel 130connected to a super heater outlet formed in the super heater 310 and afourth branch channel 140 connected to a turbine inlet formed in theturbine 340. Connection relationships between the main channel 100 andthe branch channels 110, 120, 130, and 140 have been described based ona state in which a flow of the working fluid is excluded and the mainchannel 100 and the branch channels 110, 120, 130, and 140 are simplyarranged.

The channel control valves S₁ and S₂ are provided at a first branchpoint at which the main channel 100 is branched into the first branchchannel 110 and the second branch channel 120 and a second branch pointat which the second branch channel 120 is branched into the third branchchannel 130 and the fourth branch channel 140, respectively.

More accurately, the channel control valves S₁ and S₂ include a firstchannel control valve S1 provided at the first branch point at which themain channel 100 is branched into the first branch channel 110 and thesecond branch channel 120 and a second channel control valve S₂ providedat the second branch point at which the second branch channel 120 isbranched into the third branch channel 130 and the fourth branch channel140.

As illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, a method of operating the exhaust heatrecovery system according to various embodiments of the presentinvention includes driving the engine (S110) and operating the channelcontrol valves S₁ and S₂ so that the main channel 100 and the superheater 310 exchange heat with each other (S120) when the EGR valve 210is operated.

When the engine 1 is driven and the EGR valve 210 is operated, thechannel control valves are operated so that the main channel and thesuper heater 310 are in communication with each other (S121). When themain channel and the super heater 310 are in communication with eachother, an amount of the working fluid supplied by the pump 70compressing the working fluid from the reservoir 60 in which the workingfluid is stored and supplying the compressed working fluid to the heatexchanger 400 is increased (S122).

When the EGR valve 210 is not operated, the channel control valves areoperated so that the main channel and the turbine 340 are incommunication with each other (S123), and an amount of the working fluidsupplied by the pump 70 compressing the working fluid from the reservoir60 in which the working fluid is stored and supplying the compressedworking fluid to the heat exchanger 400 is maintained (S124).

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 to 7, the heat exchanger 400 according tovarious embodiments of the present invention, which is a heat exchanger400 of the exhaust heat recovery system absorbing thermal energy fromthe exhaust pipe 404 and supplying the thermal energy to the workingfluid so as to supply a gas-phase working fluid to the turbine 304generating energy, includes a nozzle 411 atomizing the introducedworking fluid.

In addition, the heat exchanger 400 includes a heat exchange pathprovided with a heat exchanger inlet 410 through which the liquid-phaseworking fluid is introduced and a heat exchanger outlet 420 throughwhich the working fluid is evaporated and exhausted through the exhaustgas, and the nozzle 411 is provided in the heat exchanger inlet 410.

The heat exchange path is accommodated in a heat exchanger housing,which is attached to the post-processing apparatus 402 through which theexhaust gas moves. The heat exchange path includes a chamber 430extended from the heat exchanger inlet and spraying the working fluidthrough the nozzle 411 so as to be atomized, a chamber extension tube440 having a plurality of heat exchange lines 441 arranged at the sameinterval and attached to the chamber 430 so that the atomized workingfluid is introduced into the heat exchange lines 441, and extensiontubes 460 positioned at one side of the chamber extension tube 440,having a plurality of heat exchange lines 441 arranged at the sameinterval, and connected to each other through horizontal connectionmembers 450 so that the working fluid is introduced from the chamberextension tube 440, wherein the extension tubes 460 are connected to theheat exchanger outlet 420.

A plurality of extension tubes 460 are provided at the same interval,and are connected to each other through a plurality of horizontalconnection members 450 so that the heat exchanger inlet and the heatexchanger outlet are in communication with each other. Exhaust gas fins442 contacting the exhaust gas are provided between the plurality ofheat exchange lines 441, and working fluid fins contacting the workingfluid are provided in the heat exchange lines 441.

The heat exchanger inlet is connected to the pump 70 pressuring andinjecting the liquid-phase working fluid and a reservoir 60 supplyingthe working fluid to the pump 70, and the heat exchanger outlet isselectively connected to the turbine 340 to which the gas-phase workingfluid is supplied from the heat exchanger outlet or the super heater310. The main channel 100 connecting the heat exchanger outlet and theturbine 340 to each other is provided with the channel control valvesblocking communication between the heat exchanger outlet and the turbine340 and allowing the heat exchanger outlet and the super heater 310 tobe in communication with each other.

As illustrated in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the turbine 340 includes a powergeneration turbine 342, a clutch, a motor generator 341, and a pulley343.

Rotors of the power generation turbine 342 and the motor generators 341are connected to each other on the same axis, and the clutchmechanically controls the power generation turbine 342 and the pulley343.

The turbine 340 may drive a shaft installed in an internal combustionengine directly using rotation energy of the power generation turbine342. Here, the shaft installed in the internal combustion engine may bea crankshaft of the engine 1 transferring power to a wheel, but is notnecessarily limited thereto. The shaft installed in the internalcombustion engine may be, for example, a shaft additionally mounted inthe engine 1 and driving apparatuses operated using a torque, such as anair conditioner pump, a coolant pump, or the like. The rotation energyfrom the power generation turbine 342 may be transferred to the shaftthrough a belt. Here, a chain or a gear may be used instead of the belt.

Meanwhile, the motor generator 341 may convert the rotation energy ofthe power generation turbine 342 into electrical energy and mechanicalenergy, and the electrical energy converted as described above may bestored in a battery 20. In the case in which the clutch disconnects thepower generation turbine 342 and the pulley 343 from each other, atorque of the power generation turbine 342 is used only to generateelectric power, and in the case in which the clutch connects the powergeneration turbine 342 and the pulley 343 to each other, a torque of thepower generation turbine 342 is used to apply power to the shaftinstalled in the internal combustion engine as well as to generateelectric power. The motor generator 341 may receive electric power fromthe battery to drive the shaft installed in the internal combustionengine.

A power transferring part 40 may be installed in a gear train 7 of theengine 1 so as to be engaged with the gear train 7. The powertransferring part 40 may receive the electric power from the battery 20through an inverter 30 to thereby be used to start up the engine 1 ormay serve as a driving source assisting the engine 1 to serve to raisean output of the engine 1 or lower a load of the engine 1, therebyimproving fuel efficiency of the engine 1.

Meanwhile, the turbine 340 may further include a second clutch that maymechanically control the power generation turbine 342 and the motorgenerator 341. In the case in which the working fluid rotates the powergeneration turbine 342, when a period in which a torque of the powergeneration turbine 342 is converted into electrical energy isexcessively long, the battery 20 may be over-charged.

In this case, the second clutch may mechanically disconnect the powergeneration turbine 342 and the motor generator 341 from each other, andthe power generation turbine 342 continuously rotates in a state inwhich it is mechanically disconnected from the motor generator 341. Inthis case, rotation energy of the power generation turbine 342 may bemaximally utilized without being wasted by allowing the power generationturbine 342 to drive the shaft 6 installed in the internal combustionengine without leaving the power generation turbine 342 idling.

When a voltage of the battery 20 drops up to a predetermined chargingstart reference voltage during a period in which the working fluidrotates the power generation turbine 342, a recycling system may beconfigured so that the second clutch may again mechanically connect thepower generation turbine 342 and the motor generator 341 to charge thebattery 20.

In the turbine 340 configured as described above, after start-up of avehicle stops, the working fluid is not exhausted from the turbine 340,but remains in the turbine 340. The working fluid remaining in theturbine 340 is cooled, such that a phase thereof is changed from a gasphase into a liquid phase, and the liquid-phase working fluid and thegas-phase working fluid coexist in the turbine 340 at the time of againoperating the engine 1, such that a cavitation phenomenon may occur andthe power generation turbine 342 may be damaged due to the liquid-phaseworking fluid and air bubbles.

Therefore, according to a procedure view illustrated in FIG. 10, theexhaust heat recovery system according to various embodiments of thepresent invention controls the turbine 340 to forcibly rotate reverselythe turbine 340 after starting up the engine 1, thereby reverselyintroducing the working fluid remaining in the turbine 340 into the heatexchanger 400.

A method of controlling the turbine of the exhaust heat recovery systemwill be described in more detail below. The method of controlling theturbine of the exhaust heat recovery system, which is a method ofcontrolling the turbine of the exhaust heat recovery system in which theheat of the exhaust gas evaporates the working fluid through the heatexchanger 400 provided in the exhaust pipe 404 and the working fluid issupplied to the turbine 340, includes turning on start-up (S210),measuring an internal temperature of the heat exchanger 400 (S211), androtating the turbine 340 in a reverse direction (S212) when the measuredinternal temperature is a predetermined temperature or less.

After the start-up, the internal temperature of the heat exchanger 400is measured, and the turbine 340 is reversely operated when the measuredvalue is less than an appropriate value (50° C.). When the measuredvalue is the appropriate value or more, the turbine 340 is normallyoperated, and the internal temperature of the heat exchanger is againmeasured (S214).

When the turbine 340 is reversely operated, it is confirmed whether aflow rate of the working fluid reversely introduced from the turbine 340to the heat exchanger 400 is present (S213). When the flow rate of theworking fluid reversely introduced from the turbine 340 to the heatexchanger 400 is present, the reverse operation of the turbine 340 iscontinued. Then, it is confirmed whether the internal temperature of theheat exchanger 400 exceeds a threshold value (250° C.) (S215).

When the flow rate of the working fluid reversely introduced from theturbine 340 to the heat exchanger 400 is not present and the internaltemperature of the heat exchanger 400 exceeds the threshold value (250°C.), the pump 70 pressurizing the working fluid and injecting thepressurized working fluid to the heat exchanger 400 is operated, and theturbine 340 receives a torque from the working fluid to generateelectric power (S216).

When the flow rate of the working fluid reversely introduced from theturbine 340 to the heat exchanger 400 is not present and the internaltemperature of the heat exchanger 400 is less than the threshold value,the pump 70 pressurizing the working fluid and injecting the pressurizedworking fluid to the heat exchanger 400 is not operated (S217).

The super heater 310 is connected to the EGR cooler 300 so as to beseparable from the EGR cooler, as illustrated in FIG. 11 and FIG. 12. Invarious embodiments of the present invention, the super heater 310,which is formed at one side of the EGR cooler 300 so as to recover theheat from the exhaust gas exhausted through the exhaust pipe 404 to heatthe evaporated working fluid, is located upstream of the EGR cooler 300in the main channel 100, and is connected to the EGR cooler 300 so as tobe separable from the EGR cooler.

The supper heater 310 and the EGR cooler 300 are fastened to each otherby a clamp 317 at connection portions therebetween, such that couplingtherebetween is maintained. Thermal impact of the super heater 310 andthe EGR cooler 300 is alleviated and damage to the super heater 310 andthe EGR cooler 300 is prevented, through the clamp 317.

A separable super heater 310 mounted in the exhaust heat recovery systemaccording to various embodiments of the present invention will bedescribed in more detail below.

The exhaust heat recovery system according to various embodiments of thepresent invention includes the EGR line 200 cooling the exhaust gasexhausted from the engine 1 and circulating the cooled exhaust gas tothe intake manifold, the turbine 340 rotated by the working fluidevaporated through heat exchange with the exhaust pipe 404 to generateenergy, the super heater 310 disposed in the EGR line 200 and exchangingheat with the working fluid moving to the turbine 340, and the EGRcooler 300 formed to be separated from the super heater 310 and disposedin the EGR line 200 to exchange heat with the exhaust gas moving to theintake manifold.

The EGR cooler 300 includes an EGR cooler housing 301 forming anappearance, and the super heater 310 includes a super heater housing 311forming an appearance, connected to the EGR cooler housing 301, andhaving super heater internal channels 312 formed therein.

A recirculation gas inlet 313 into which the exhaust gas is introducedfrom the exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) line 200 and a recirculationgas outlet 314 through which the exhaust gas is exhausted to the EGRcooler 300 are formed, respectively, at both ends of the super heaterhousing 311 in a length direction.

The super heater internal channels 312 protrude on a side surface of thesuper heater housing 311, and are provided with a super heater inlet 315to which the working fluid is supplied and a super heater outlet 316through which the working fluid is exhausted from the super heaterinternal channels 312. As described above, the turbine 340 receives theworking fluid from the heat exchanger 400 or the super heater 310 togenerate the electric power. The super heater inlet 315 is connected tothe heat exchanger 400, and the super heater outlet 316 is connected tothe turbine 340.

The EGR cooler 300 includes the EGR cooler housing 301 connected to thesuper heater housing 311 of the super heater 310, coolant channels 302mounted in the EGR cooler housing 301, an EGR cooler inlet 303protruding from the EGR cooler housing 301 and introducing a coolantinto the coolant channels 302, and an EGR cooler outlet 304 protrudingfrom the EGR cooler housing 301 and exhausting the coolant from thecoolant channels 302.

Meanwhile, heat of the exhaust gas is lower at the early stage of thestart-up than during driving, and the working fluid in the heatexchanger 400 is less evaporated at the early stage of the start-up thanduring driving. Therefore, at the early stage of the start-up, apressure of the working fluid introduced into the turbine 340 is low,such that a low torque is generated in the turbine 340 by introductionof the working fluid. In consideration of this, a connection structurebetween the heat exchanger 400 and the turbine 340 of the exhaust heatrecovery system according to various embodiments of the presentinvention includes the heat exchanger 400 provided in the exhaust pipe404 and transferring the heat of the exhaust gas to the working fluid,the turbine 340 connected to the heat exchanger 400 through the mainchannel 100 and receiving the evaporated working fluid supplied throughthe main channel 100, and a pressure adjusting valve S₃ mounted in themain channel 100 and allowing the heat exchanger 400 and the turbine 340to be in selective communication with each other, as illustrated in FIG.13 and FIG. 14.

In addition, the connection structure further includes the reservoir 60in which the liquid-phase working fluid is stored and the pump 70pressurizing the working fluid and injecting the pressurized workingfluid to the heat exchanger 400, and the working fluid is recovered fromthe turbine 340 to the reservoir 60. The recuperator 50 recovering theheat from the working fluid and the TEG condenser 370 are providedbetween the turbine 340 and the reservoir 60. The heat exchanger 400 hasa pressure sensor mounted at an outlet thereof.

In the exhaust heat recovery system according to various embodiments ofthe present invention having the connection structure between the heatexchanger 400 and the turbine 340 as described above, as illustrated inFIG. 15, when an internal pressure of the heat exchanger 400 is a setvalue or more, the pressure adjusting valve S₃ is operated, and the heatexchanger 400 and the turbine 340 are in communication with each other(S330).

Before the internal pressure of the heat exchanger 400 is measured, thevehicle in which the heat exchanger 400 and the turbine 340 are mountedstarts up, and the pump 70 supplying the working fluid to the heatexchanger 400 is operated (S310). The internal pressure of the heatexchanger 400 is measured, and it is decided whether the internalpressure is a set value or more (S320). The working fluid is circulatedamong the pump 70, the heat exchanger 400, and the turbine 340 throughthe pressure adjusting valve S₃.

The exhaust heat recovery system according to various embodiments of thepresent invention configured as described above will be described inmore detail below.

When a temperature of the exhaust gas is low such as when the engine 1initially starts up, re-circulated exhaust gas, that is, EGR gas doesnot pass through the EGR cooler 300, but is directly introduced into theintake manifold 2 using an EGR bypass valve 220, thereby making itpossible to rapidly pre-heat the engine 1, and after a temperature ofthe exhaust gas is sufficiently raised, the exhaust gas is applied tothe EGR cooler 300, thereby making it possible to decrease NOx.

The super heater 310 may be disposed upstream from the EGR cooler 300based on a flow through which the EGR gas is introduced. In this case,the EGR gas may transfer a large amount of heat to the working fluidwhile passing through the super heater 310, and the EGR gas having anamount of heat that is not transferred to the working fluid is cooled bythe EGR cooler 300, such that the working fluid may recover maximum heatfrom the EGR gas.

The working fluid is supplied to the pump 70 through an outlet 64 of thereservoir 60 storing the liquid-phase working fluid therein and havingan inlet 62 and the outlet 64, and the working fluid pumped by the pump70 is heated while passing through the recuperator 50.

The working fluid passing through the recuperator 50 is supplied to theheat exchanger 400 to again receive the heat, and receives the heatthrough the super heater 310 provided in the EGR cooler 300. Theliquid-phase working fluid that is not evaporated even until passingthrough the super heater 310 is separated by a gas-liquid separator 330,and only the gas-phase working fluid passing through the super heater310 is supplied to the turbine 340.

That is, the working fluid receives the heat from the recuperator 50,and the heat exchanger 400 is located upstream of the EGR cooler 300 inthe main channel 100, such that the working fluid additionally receivesthe heat while sequentially passing through the heat exchanger 400 andthe super heater 310.

The gas-phase working fluid is supplied to the turbine 340 to rotate theturbine 340, and the working fluid losing energy by rotating the turbine340 passes through the recuperator 50 and then returns to the inlet 62of the reservoir 60.

The working fluid circulated through the path as described above maysatisfy a Rankine cycle condition. Here, a Rankine cycle, which is acycle configured of two adiabatic changes and two isobaric changes,indicates a cycle in which the working fluid is accompanied by phasechanges in vapor and liquid. Since the Rankine cycle is one of thewell-known cycles, a detailed description therefor will be omitted.

The recuperator 50 is connected to both of the inlet 62 and the outlet64 of the reservoir 60 to exchange heat between the working fluidintroduced into the reservoir 60 and the working fluid flowing out fromthe reservoir 60.

In terms of the working fluid flowing out from the outlet 64 of thereservoir 60, the working fluid is heated by receiving heat from theworking fluid passing through the turbine 340 and then introduced intothe recuperator 50. To the contrary, in terms of the working fluidpassing through the turbine 340 and then introduced into the recuperator50, the working fluid is cooled by the working fluid flowing out fromthe outlet 64 of the reservoir 60. As described above, the recuperator50 is disposed upstream from the reservoir 60 based on the inlet 62 ofthe reservoir 60 and is disposed downstream from the reservoir 60 basedon the outlet 64 of the reservoir 60, thereby making it possible toallow the working fluid to be stably supplied in the liquid phase to thereservoir 60 and preheat the working fluid before being supplied to theheat exchanger 400 to improve efficiency of exhaust heat recovery.

The TEG condenser 370 is disposed between the inlet 62 of the reservoir60 and the recuperator 50 and performs a predetermined role in robbingan amount of heat from the working fluid to make the working fluidflowing in the reservoir 60 a liquid state. In addition, a pipe betweenthe recuperator 50 and the TEG condenser 370 may be formed of a workingfluid radiator bent plural times in order to improve cooling efficiency.The working fluid radiator may be cooled by a cooling fan 360.

An end portion of the working fluid radiator is connected to the TEGcondenser 370, such that the working fluid cooled by the working fluidradiator and the cooling fan 360 may be additionally cooled by the TEGcondenser 370.

Meanwhile, the pump 70 is disposed between the reservoir 60 and therecuperator 50, and in the case in which the working fluid flowingthrough a pipe connecting the reservoir 60 and the pump 70 to each otherabsorbs heat from the surrounding to thereby be evaporated, pumpingefficiency may be decreased. In order to prevent the decrease in thepumping efficiency as described above, the pipe connecting the reservoir60 and the pump 70 to each other may be subjected to heat insulationtreatment.

In the main channel 100, a point between the super heater 310 and theturbine 340 and a point between the turbine 340 and the recuperator 50are connected to each other by a working fluid bypass 350, and a workingfluid bypass valve 352 selectively bypassing the working fluid to therecuperator 50 is installed in the working fluid bypass 350.

In the case in which the working fluid exceeds a specific temperatureand pressure, a molecule structure of the working fluid is destroyed,such that a unique material property of the working fluid may be lost.In the case in which the unique material property of the working fluidmay be lost as described above, the working fluid is supplied to therecuperator 50 using the working fluid bypass valve 352 in order toagain make the working fluid a normal state before the working fluidpasses through the turbine 340. The working fluid bypassed to therecuperator 50 returns to the normal state while passing through therecuperator 50.

It is ideal that only the working fluid is circulated in the mainchannel 100. However, a high temperature working fluid needs to rotatethe turbine 340, and the turbine 340 is lubricated by a turbinelubricant in order to prevent the turbine 340 from being damaged whilebeing rotated at a high speed. Therefore, the turbine lubricant may bemixed with the working fluid passing through the turbine 340, and an oilseparator 320 for separating fluids other than the working fluid,including the turbine lubricant exhausted from the turbine 340 from themain channel 100 may be formed in a pipe between the turbine 340 and therecuperator 50.

Meanwhile, the TEG condenser 370 and the reservoir 60 are provided witha coolant channel L₁ through which a coolant for cooling the workingfluid flows and a coolant pump P₁ supplying motive power for circulatingthe coolant through the coolant channel L₁, respectively. Therefore, alayout design of a pipe connected to the TEG condenser 370 and thereservoir 60 is significantly difficult.

In consideration of this, in the exhaust heat recovery system accordingto various embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG.16 to FIG. 19, the TEG condenser 370 and the reservoir 60 are configuredto share the coolant with each other.

The exhaust heat recovery system according to various embodiments of thepresent invention includes the TEG condenser 370 and the reservoir 60 towhich the coolant channel L₁ through which the coolant for cooling theworking fluid receiving the heat of the exhaust gas flows is extended.In addition, the coolant channel L₁ is provided with the coolant pump P₁for circulating the coolant.

A detailed description therefor will be provided below. As illustratedin FIGS. 16 to 19, the exhaust heat recovery system according to variousembodiments of the present invention includes the TEG condenser 370having the working fluid introduced thereinto and recovering the heat ofthe introduced working fluid, the working fluid receiving the heat ofthe exhaust gas through the heat exchanger 400 provided in the exhaustpipe 404, and the reservoir 60 receiving the working fluid from the TEGcondenser 370, wherein the TEG condenser 370 and the reservoir 60 areprovided with the coolant channel L₁ through which the coolant forcooling the working fluid flows.

The coolant channel L₁ is mounted with the coolant pump P₁ so that thecoolant may be circulated in the TEG condenser 370 and the reservoir 60through the coolant channel L₁. The reservoir 60 includes a coolingjacket 61 mounted in the reservoir 60 and provided with a cooling jacketinlet 63 and a cooling jacket outlet 68 connected to the coolant channelL₁.

The cooling jacket 61 includes a coolant introduction chamber 65 havingthe cooling jacket inlet formed therein, a coolant exhaust chamber 67disposed in parallel with the coolant introduction chamber 65 and havingthe cooling jacket outlet 68 formed therein, and a plurality of coolingjacket internal paths 66 connecting the coolant introduction chamber 65and the coolant exhaust chamber 67 to each other. The cooling jacketinternal paths 66 are formed perpendicularly to the coolant introductionchamber 65 and the coolant exhaust chamber 67.

Meanwhile, the reservoir 60 is connected to the pump 70 pressurizing theworking fluid and supplying the pressurized working fluid to the heatexchanger 400. The heat exchanger 400 is connected to the super heater310 receiving and heating the evaporated working fluid. The super heater310 is attached to a front end of the EGR cooler 300 cooling there-circulated exhaust gas.

The TEG condenser 370 is connected to the turbine 340 receiving theworking fluid from the heat exchanger 400. The recuperator 50transferring the heat of the working fluid introduced from the turbine340 into the TEG condenser 370 to the working fluid introduced from theTEG condenser 370 to the reservoir 60 is provided between the turbine340 and the TEG condenser 370.

Meanwhile, as a working load of the turbine 340 becomes large, aninternal temperature of the reservoir 60 rises. As the internaltemperature of the reservoir 60 rises, a temperature of the workingfluid accommodated in the reservoir 60 rises, such that an evaporationphenomenon that the working fluid is changed from the liquid state intothe gas phase occurs in the reservoir 60. Since the working fluid ischanged from the liquid state into the gas phase, a state in which thepump 70 pressurizing the liquid-phase fluid and supplying thepressurized liquid-phase fluid to the heat exchanger 400 may not beoperated occurs, such that a state in which the liquid-phase workingfluid may not be supplied to the heat exchanger 400 ultimately occurs.

In consideration of this, in the exhaust heat recovery system accordingto various embodiments of the present invention, as illustrated in FIG.20, a plurality of reservoirs 60, 60′ are provided, and only reservoirs60 of which internal temperatures are less than a specific value amongthe plurality of reservoirs 60, 60′ are in communication with the heatexchanger 400 so as to supply the working fluids to the heat exchanger400 through the pump 70.

The exhaust heat recovery system according to various embodiments of thepresent invention includes the exhaust pipe 404 through which theexhaust gas exhausted from the engine 1 moves, the heat exchanger 400mounted in the exhaust pipe 404 and inducing the heat exchange betweenthe exhaust gas and the working fluid flowing therein, the plurality ofreservoirs 60, 60′ supplying the working fluids to the heat exchanger400, and channel adjusting valves V₁ and V₂ allowing any one of theplurality of reservoirs 60, 60′ to be in communication with the heatexchanger 400.

In addition, the exhaust heat recovery system according to variousembodiments of the present invention further includes the pump 70pressurizing the working fluids from the plurality of reservoirs 60, 60′and supplying the pressurized working fluids to the heat exchanger 400,the turbine 340 receiving the evaporated working fluid from the heatexchanger 400 to generate the electric power, and the TEG condenser 370receiving the working fluid from the turbine 340 to recover the heat ofthe working fluid.

The channel adjusting valves V₁ and V₂ include a first channel adjustvalve V₁ provided in a first connection channel connecting a TEGcondenser outlet through which the liquid-phase working fluid isexhausted from the TEG condenser 370 and the plurality of reservoirs 60,60′ to each other and a second channel adjusting valve V₂ provided in asecond connection channel connecting the plurality of reservoirs 60, 60′and the pump 70 to each other.

Each of the reservoirs 60, 60′ is provided with a temperature sensor anda pressure sensor. The exhaust heat recovery system according to variousembodiments of the present invention further includes the heat exchanger400 receiving the working fluid pressurized and supplied through thepump 70 and the turbine 340 receiving the working fluid from the heatexchanger 400 to generate the electric power and transferring theworking fluid to the TEG condenser 370. The exhaust heat recovery systemaccording to various embodiments of the present invention furtherincludes the recuperator 50 allowing the heat of the working fluidtransferred from the turbine 340 to the TEG condenser 370 to betransferred to the working fluids supplied from the plurality ofreservoirs 60, 60′ to the heat exchanger 400.

The recuperator 50 is mounted between a supply pipe connecting the pump70 and the heat exchanger to each other and a recovery pipe connectingthe turbine 340 and the TEG condenser 370 to each other.

As illustrated in FIG. 21, a method of operating the reservoir tank ofthe exhaust heat recovery system according to various embodiments of thepresent invention configured as described above includes measuringinternal temperatures and pressures of the plurality of reservoirs 60,60′ through the temperature sensors and the pressure sensors included inthe plurality of reservoirs 60 (S410), deciding whether the workingfluids stored in the plurality of reservoirs 60, 60′ are in the liquidphase or the gas phase (S420), and allowing reservoirs 60 in which theliquid-phase working fluids are stored among the plurality of reservoirs60, 60′ and the pump 70 to be in communication with each other (S430).

In the case in which all of the working fluids stored in the pluralityof reservoirs 60, 60′ are in the gas phase, an operation of the pump 70is stopped (S440). When the number of reservoirs 60 in which theliquid-phase working fluids are stored among the plurality of reservoirs60, 60′ is two or more, any one reservoir 60 set among the plurality ofreservoirs 60, 60′ and the pump 70 are in communication with each other.

At the time of the initial start-up, any one reservoir 60 set among theplurality of reservoirs 60, 60′ and the pump 70 are in communicationwith each other.

As described above, with the exhaust heat recovery system according tovarious embodiments of the present invention, exhaust heat may berecovered without decreasing an output of an internal combustion engine.

The foregoing descriptions of specific exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention have been presented for purposes of illustration anddescription. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit theinvention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously manymodifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteachings. The exemplary embodiments were chosen and described in orderto explain certain principles of the invention and their practicalapplication, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to make andutilize various exemplary embodiments of the present invention, as wellas various alternatives and modifications thereof. It is intended thatthe scope of the invention be defined by the Claims appended hereto andtheir equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of operating an exhaust heat recoverysystem including a main channel into which a working fluid evaporatedthrough a heat exchanger provided in an exhaust pipe is introduced and asuper heater and a turbine that are in selective communication with themain channel through channel control valves provided in the mainchannel, the super heater heating the working fluid and the turbinegenerating electric power using the working fluid or the working fluidheated through the super heater, the method comprising: driving anengine; and operating the channel control valves so that the mainchannel and the super heater are in communication with each other whenan EGR valve is opened, wherein when the main channel and the superheater are in communication with each other, an amount of the workingfluid supplied by a pump compressing the working fluid from a reservoirin which the working fluid is stored and supplying the compressedworking fluid to the heat exchanger is increased.
 2. The method ofoperating the exhaust heat recovery system according to claim 1, whereinwhen it is determined that the EGR valve is closed, the channel controlvalves are operated so that the main channel and the turbine are incommunication with each other, and when the main channel and the turbineare in communication with each other, an amount of the working fluidsupplied by the pump compressing the working fluid from the reservoir inwhich the working fluid is stored and supplying the compressed workingfluid to the heat exchanger is maintained.